Improvement in elevators



A. B.' DARLING. rLvATon.

l1U.lvmnnf STATES .PATENT @Errea ALFRED B. DARLING, 0E NEw YORK, n. Y.

ilMPRovEMNT IN ELEvATQRs.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 176,841, dated May 2,1876; application filed ApriL4,1e7e. s

To all whom i may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED B; DARLING, of the city, county, and State ofNew York,

` have invented a new and useful` Improvement in Elevators, of which,the following is a specification:

The first `part of my invention is a contrivance whereby ropes may beused instead of chains for gearing the elevator-carriage with theretarder, which is employed to regulate thedescent of the carriage, theropes being stronger, less noisy, and more easy in operation, and lesswearing.

The second part consists of the carriage connected to the hoisting-drumby ropes,`

which wind ol and on reversely to' the action ot' the hoisting-ropes,the object being, first, to prevent the hoisting-ropes from winding offfaster than the carriage descends; and, second, to insure the descent ofthe carriage.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevation of an elevator contrivedaccording to form or other to the elevator, so that their movements willbe positive relatively to one another. l

In the arrangement patented, toUMassey and Darling, October7,1873,"'th'is ,fwas a c complshed by chains connected to the car riagepassing over chain-pulleys on the retarder-shaft, and. connected at theother end to a co'unterpoise for balancing the carriage. These chainsand chain-pulleys were'used because the friction of a rope on a pulleyof the retarder could not be relied on as being suciently positive,owing to its tendency to slip, but the chains are objectionable becausethey are not so strong as wire rope, they make more noise, and wearconsiderable more than the wear of ropes. f

Now, in order that ropes G may be used H represents the ropes connectedto the I bottom of the carriage, and winding on the drivin g-drum I theopposite way to the hoisting-ropes J, so that the carriage is posi--tively connected to the hoisting-drum, and the hoisting ropes areeftectually prevented from running off slack, which they sometimes do,particularly when a retarder is used, getting tangled in the gearing,and, per. haps, cut or broken to the great danger of the carriage.

The pulling-down ropes are more especially required when a retarder isused, as the driving-drum is more liable to run faster than f thecarriage descends; but they are also useful when the retarder is notused, in case a bar or obstacle of any kind falls in between thecarriage and wall and stops it, and also prevents vibration betweencarriage a-nd counterpoise. The said ropes would then stop the engineand keep the hoisting-ropes in position, whereas, without said ropes,the hoisting-ropes would run oft' the drum, and would require to bereadjusted before the carriage could be released; in the meantime thecarriage might fall.

While the lifting-ropes are winding off, the pull-down ropes are windingon, the drum, which enables me to balance the car at nearlyequilibrium-say, five hundred to one thousand pounds nearer than can bedone without the pull-down ropes, and enables the handling of the carwith greater ease with the handbrakes, and lessens the chances of thecar falling in easeof the lifting -ropes or belt breaking; also, toprevent the vibration of the weight being communicated to the car.

By this combination of double pulley and pull-down ropes it makes thecar run much smoother, prevents the lifting-ropes from running off thedrums, takes less power to drive the car, and adds greatly to itssafety.

Having thus fully described my inven-ton,-I l which thellostiug-rope iswound on, and, at claim as new and desire to secure by I-Llettersvtheothe'r, the pulling-down ropes wound ofi',

Patentor the reverse, substantially as 'and' for the l. The retarder A,geared to the carriage purpose specified. of au elevator by ropes Ccoiled one or more times around the retarder-shaft pulleysandv y A' B'DARLING" coiinter-pulleys, substantially 'asspccied Witilesse's:

2. The herein -described elevator, having Gr. B. MASSEY,

the power applied to drum, at one side of S. B. GOODALE.

